Fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF.N) offered to buy rival Terra Industries Inc (TRA.N) for $2.1 billion in a deal that would create the largest global producer of nitrogen fertilizer.The all-stock offer values Terra at $20 a share, a 22.8 percent premium to its closing price on Thursday. CF announced the offer after the market close.
Terra shares rose 27 percent to $20.69 in morning trade on Friday, while CF shares rose 3 percent to $48.70.
Analysts viewed the proposed combination as positive, saying a merger could boost pricing and profit margins in the globally fragmented nitrogen fertilizer market....MORE
From the Chicago Tribune (CF is based in Deerfield):
...Both companies' shares skyrocketed in 2008 as farm commodity prices soared, and both companies have since seen their shares plummet after the commodity boom ended. CF's shares have tumbled 73 percent from their high last year of $172.99, while Terra shares have similarly dropped 72 percent from their summer-2008 high of $57.64.
